"Hahahaha, don't even think about beating me in the sea!" Yugdon sneered, his hands grabbing the currents again, taking control of a large swath of the water around him.
"Sea Current Shoulder Throw!"
Yugdon violently flung the current, creating a monstrous wave that washed away all the approaching CP0 members.
The CP0 vice-leader kicked off the water, blasting through the current. Like a streak of light, he shot through the turbulent water, making a beeline for Yugdon.
"Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: Dragon Water Accumulation!" Yugdon thrust out his right hand. The surrounding seawater surged into his palm, rapidly compressing into a water ball the size of an egg.
He then violently thrust that palm forward.
"Warrior Dragon Pierce!"
The egg-sized water ball shot out at high speed, instantly erupting into a massive shockwave.
The CP0 vice-leader's expression changed. He instantly coated his right hand in Armament Haki and threw his own punch, unleashing a powerful shockwave that met the massive water blast and completely negated it.
"Shigan: Savage Beast!"
The exploding water threw the currents into even more chaos. The vice-leader forcefully kicked his way through, tearing through the turbulent water to get at Yugdon.
Yugdon's face paled. His most powerful attack had been broken so easily. It made him understand the sheer gap in power between them.
"So what if you're stronger than me? In the sea, you'll never defeat me!" Yugdon's confident smile returned. He dove rapidly, instantly putting distance between himself, the vice-leader, and the other pursuing CP0 agents.
The CP0 vice-leader's expression was grim. His strength was close to that of an Admiral, but in the sea, he truly couldn't match Yugdon's speed.
He gave chase for several dozen meters before abandoning the pursuit and heading back toward the surface.
But just then, Yugdon shot back up from below, grabbing and hurling currents that formed giant water spears, shooting them at the CP0 vice-leader and his men.
The vice-leader shattered the water spears with a single punch, his expression turning foul as he glared at Yugdon below.
Yugdon chuckled coldly, rapidly grabbing and throwing more water spears to block the agents from surfacing. He was going to wear them down and kill them right here in the sea.
Suddenly, a deep, powerful roar echoed through the water. A wide grin split Yugdon's face. "The Sea Patrollers have all been summoned! You're not getting away now!"
The CP0 vice-leader's expression changed drastically. He could already sense multiple behemoths approaching at high speed.
"You three, return to the surface! I'll hold him off!" the vice-leader ordered.
The three CP0 agents immediately shot upward. Yugdon tried to intercept them but was blocked by the vice-leader. The agent snorted, and a terrifying aura exploded from him, momentarily pushing the seawater itself away. His body suddenly swelled with muscle. He was using the Rokushiki secret technique: Seimei Kikan.
He moved, his right fist raised above his head before punching down violently.
"Shigan: White Thunder!"
A thick beam of white light shot from his fist, blasting the seawater aside as it closed on Yugdon with lightning speed.
The attack was too fast for Yugdon to dodge. He could only cross his arms, coating them in Armament Haki. The white light struck his guard, instantly blasting him deep into the abyss.
The CP0 vice-leader shot back toward the surface. Just then, the giant Sea Patrollers came into view, all of them charging the hijacked ship.
"Damn it!" The vice-leader changed direction, abandoning his ascent to charge the Sea Patrollers. There were Devil Fruit users among their CP0 team; if the ship was destroyed, they would be in extreme danger.
"Rankyaku: Spiral Army-Breaker!"
The vice-leader's body spun at high speed. His extended right leg sliced through the water, unleashing a massive, circular Rankyaku that flew outward, momentarily splitting the sea. The spinning slash tore into the encircling Sea Patrollers.
It carved horrific wounds into the beasts' bodies. Several of the Sea Patrollers were decapitated or split in two, killed instantly.
Blood gushed out, staining the surrounding sea crimson. The gore and the massive corpses of the Sea Patrollers began to float to the surface.
With a swoosh, the vice-leader burst from the water and landed back on the ship's deck. "I didn't capture the Sea Dragon," he reported, his face grim.
The CP0 leader nodded, his face impassive. "It is never easy to capture a powerful Fish-Man in the sea."
"A large number of Sea Patrollers are still surrounding us. What are your orders?" the vice-leader asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, more Sea Patrollers breached the surface. The smell of blood in the water was driving them into a frenzy, making them even more violent and ferocious.
An octopus-like Sea Patroller attacked immediately, its massive tentacles slamming down toward the vessel.
One of the CP0 agents moved in a blur, a longsword flashing as it severed the attacking tentacles. The massive, severed limbs crashed into the sea, sending up huge plumes of water and rocking the entire ship.
The octopus Sea Patroller let out a piercing shriek, completely enraging the rest of the swarm. A swordfish-like Sea Patroller charged, its razor-sharp bill gleaming as it aimed to impale the ship.
The vice-leader appeared instantly in its path. He caught the massive bill with his bare hands and, with a tremendous show of strength, hurled the entire beast's body aside, smashing it into several other Sea Patrollers.
At that same moment, three pirate ships sped into view. By the time they arrived, all they saw was a crimson-stained sea and the floating corpses of Sea Patrollers.
"How is this possible... The Sea Patrollers were wiped out," Zodd's expression twisted, his hands gripping the ship's rail as he stared in disbelief at the carnage.
Just then, a figure shot out of the water and landed on the deck. It was Yugdon.
"Moria, these guys are terrifying. They're using Rokushiki. They must be with the Marines," Yugdon said, his face dark. There was even a trace of fear in his eyes; he had watched from below as they slaughtered the Sea Patrollers.
Moria's expression was extremely grim as he stared at the ship in the distance and the figures standing on its deck.
"The Marines' main force is at Mid-Chain Supply Island," Moria said in a low voice. "They wouldn't split their forces to attack us here. This group is almost certainly a Cipher Pol organization from the World Government."
"Bege was just being overly cautious when he had me stay behind to defend Dragon Fruit Island... but it looks like he was right. The World Government really is trying to force our frontline troops to pull back."
"Open fire! Blast that ship to bits!" Moria roared. The cannons on all three pirate ships turned, and dozens of rockets fired simultaneously, screaming toward the CP0 vessel.
The CP0 agents on the ship all took to the sky, using Geppo to launch themselves high into the air before charging toward Moria's fleet.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The hijacked vessel was struck by dozens of rockets and instantly disintegrated.
"Don't even think about setting foot on my ships!" Moria snarled. His shadow warped and twisted, forming dozens of Shadow Spears that shot into the sky to intercept the CP0 agents.
But in a mere instant, every single Shadow Spear was kicked apart.
The CP0 agents landed on the decks of the three pirate ships in the blink of an eye. Each one of them radiated a powerful aura, pressing down on all three crews.
"'Shadow Demon' Gecko Moria," the CP0 leader's cold gaze fixed on him. "Our primary assassination target for this mission."
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